The development of voice or speech recognition systems for use in various applications involving human endeavor has provided convenience and security. Heretofore, however, control systems for operating barriers, such as residential and commercial upward acting garage doors and similar barriers, have not enjoyed the improvements provided by human voice or speech recognition devices.
Barrier operator systems, such as garage door operators, could well benefit from systems which may be operated by human voices speaking to a control device to cause opening and closing of garage doors, in particular. For example, residential and commercial garage doors may provide for added security and convenience of operation if operated by speaker dependent or speaker independent speech activated controllers, including controllers which may also be manually actuated. Such types of controllers are useful for placement within an enclosure or room which is closed by the door, disposed exterior of the room closed by the door or as portable remote control or command units. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.